Bitter Sweet Moments..

Well this weekend/week has been very bitter sweet for us.

My sister graduated from High School on Saturday, which is a great accomplishment but yet at the same time my kid sister isn’t my kid sister an more, she’s a “grown up”. It’s definitely been amazing to watch her go from being a cute little kid who I taught to ride her bike, walk, talk, and I’m sure a 100 other things along the way to this beautiful woman that she’s becoming. Of course there was no getting around some kind of action – We decided to leave the uncomfortable bleachers in the scorching sun to find some shade and maybe a chance for the kids to run about a little bit. Well, while standing in the sun goofing off with the kids Rick tells me to “hold the stroller” and “where’s our water” and takes off running. A woman had collapsed from the heat and he was off to help. You’ve got to love him, cuz he was very helpful with her and was making sure everything was okay until the paramedics showed up. So apart from that Graduation went off with out a hitch.

The rest of this week has been a blur and really nothing to comment on eventful anyway.

This morning we headed over to Orlando to take Missy to her Urologist appointment. Normally we wait a good hour before even being taken back to a room and then wait another 45 minutes to see him. Not today! I was amazed, we were there a total of 45 minutes! We were shocked as we figured we wouldn’t be home until well into this afternoon. The doctor came in and was really impressed with the way that Missy has grown and of course how smart she is. She didn’t remember him as it’s been 2 years since our last visit with him, so it took a little bit, I think for her to remember him. Anyways everything is going as he’d said, she only now has one viable kidney and her right one has pretty much dissipated and probably in another couple of years there will be no signs of a right kidney at all. So he’s discharged us and we no longer need to make our yearly trips over to see him. I got a little teary eyed as he was telling Missy that he’d been taking care of her since she was in my tummy and he had held her as a little tiny baby, as well as now that she’s a big grown up girl and he’s very proud of her and how well she’s doing. I told Rick once we got home that I really wish we’d taken the camera so we could’ve taken a picture or two to scrap with him, just so that we always had that to look back on as an accomplishment for her, health wise anyway. So of course she skipped right out to the parking lot and hopped into the truck like this was the best trip we’d ever taken while I’m getting Little Man in the truck getting all emotional over the fact that we probably won’t see this man who’s taken awesome care of our daughter, addressed any of our concerns and really been a big help when it’s come to her kidney/urinary issues that the thought of not seeing him any more is sad. We will of course still send Christmas cards etc and try to keep in touch with him, just incase. He did tell us that if she had a UTI in the future of course he wants to know about it and to touch base with him if we have any questions, concerns etc where to go from here.

So it was a very bitter sweet moment but I guess that’s all apart of life, it happens and it’s definitely something to look back at and say “wow we made it thru that okay” and now, sitting here I remember the first thing this wonderful, completely understanding individual said to me when we found out about Missy’s condition during my pregnancy on the phone, before I had even met him in person… “don’t worry about anything, I’ll take great care of her, and she’ll be a beautiful, perfect little girl” and he is so right. She has been a trooper through everything, the testing, the hospital stays the constant poking and prodding, the ultra sounds every year – taking monkey with her to every appointment and yet he knew all along 6 years ago that we would get to this point and she would be okay. I owe him so much along with the doctor I was working for at the time (another urologist) for getting us in touch with this amazing man, but yet I don’t know if words can express my gratitude. I’d love to write him and tell him all of this, but I don’t want to sound like a twit, or even some over emotional mother – which I probably do here, but that’s why I write here, but yet I want him to know what it’s meant to us to know that we’ve had him as our support system and how he’s helped us through this journey of finding out that our child would only ever have one kidney to where she is today, surgery free, happy and healthy.

Well now that I have rambled on and got emotional I’m off to cook dinner.